Mulberry Heart Disease

Causal agent	Vitamin E/ Selenium deficiency
Age group	Post weaning, normally about 15-30 kg.
Clinical signs
Acute	Sudden death. Generally the best pig(s) in the group.
	No other clinical signs.
Infectivity
	Not infective to other pigs
Post-mortem Lesions
	Large amounts of fluid around the heart and lung
	Haemorrhage and pale areas in heart muscle
	Fluid in the abdomen with pieces of fibrin
	Pale muscle areas in the leg and back
	The liver may be enlarged and mottled with areas of haemorrhage and possible rupture
Diagnosis
	Post mortem findings
	Histological examination of the liver, heart or damaged muscle
	Serum samples may be difficult to interpretate
Treatment
Affected group	Inject with 70 IU Vit E. May need selenium, note selenium can be very toxic
	While Vit E is a fat vitamin Water soluble preparations are available
	Increase Vit E in the feed to 150 mg (iu)/kg. Note in start up units it may be advisable to provide 250 mg (iu)/kg from 10-18 kg in weight
Control	Review Vit E concentrations in the feed
	Check environment, remove stress factors
	Examine for Glässer’s disease
	Review feed storage, Vit E may be destroyed by high moisture and mycotoxins
	Review genetic and breeding stock
Common differentials
	Glässer’s Disease, Actinobacillus pleuropneumonia, Oedema disease and Streptococcal septicaemias
Zoonotic implications
	None